Stories We Love: Sept. 30 to Oct. 4 in Sex

In a fine complement to the political theme of last week’s sexy roundup, this week the Web’s been chock-full of discussions on negotiation and public debate. Here’s this week’s best sex talk on the Internet.

Paltego at Femdom Resource published two posts on negotiating the content of BDSM scenes with a dominatrix. The first gives you a handy list of things to clarify before you play, while the second post focuses on the benefits of building a relationship with any professionals you visit. As for the scene playing out in Washington, D.C., paltego says, "I can only imagine somebody up there must have forgotten the safeword."

Dr. Marty Klein’s Sexual Intelligence blog focused on the limiting concept of sexual rules, and the need for self-discovery and negotiation in our sex lives. The New Sex Rules are just as crippling and inconsistent as the old ones. Klein's advice? Talk to your partners and make your own rules instead.

Girl on the Net is talking about the new TV phenomenon in the U.K.: "Sex Box." That’s a reality TV show in which a couple has sex inside a soundproofed box in the TV studio, then emerges to answer questions from the show’s presenters. Edgy? Pervy? Pointless? Or just a smart move by a publicity-hungry TV channel? You decide.

Congratulations to Clarisse Thorn, whose new book "BDSM & Culture: 50 Shades of Stereotype" is available now on Kindle. Take a moment to visit Thorn's blog and enjoy the many different kinky ebook cover design options she received by running a public contest before finally choosing her favorite for the book.

And for a final blast of brilliant sexual health promotion, check out the sex ed toy microbes Dr. Jill McDevitt posted on the Sexologist Tumblr a few days ago. You can buy them here and support McDevitt's endless sex education campaign. I noticed one of her upcoming gigs is "Fellatio 101," which took place in Washington, D.C., on October 5th. Well, that’s one way to pass the time during the government shutdown.